Good Morning! Remembering a Pioneer. Niklaus Wirth, renowned creator of several influential programming languages including Pascal, dies at age 89. His dedication to elegant software design left a lasting impact. A Prank Gone Too Far. A stunt on the NPM registry left developers unable to unpublish packages, sparking backlash. The "everything" package was designed to install all public NPM packages, breaking the ability to unpublish. Coming Soon: An App Store for AI. OpenAI plans to unveil its GPT Store next week - a marketplace for custom apps using its text-generating models. Developers will be able to publish compliant GPT models to perform specialized tasks.

— Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

CS Pioneer Niklaus Wirth Dies at Age 89

The global computing community mourns the loss of a pioneering figure, Professor Niklaus Wirth, who passed away on January 1, 2024, just shy of his 90th birthday. Born in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1934, Wirth was a renowned computer scientist known for his significant contributions to the field of computer science.

Wirth's most famous achievement is the programming language Pascal, celebrated for its simplicity and elegance. However, his contributions extend far beyond that. He was the chief designer of several programming languages, including Euler, PL360, ALGOL W, Pascal, Modula, Modula-2, Oberon, Oberon-2, and Oberon-07. His work played a fundamental part in developing the world of IT and has had a decisive influence on computer science and generations of programmers.

In 1984, Wirth won the Turing Award, often considered the highest distinction in computer science, for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages. His philosophy of software design emphasized simplicity and effectiveness, a legacy that continues to inspire and influence future generations of computer scientists and software engineers.

Wirth's impact was not limited to software. He also played a crucial role in the development of the Oberon operating system and the design of the Lilith workstation. His dedication to elegant and efficient software design continues to inspire computer scientists, making him a highly respected figure in the history of computing.

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NPM registry prank leaves developers unable to unpublish packages

In a recent incident that has sparked controversy in the developer community, a prank on the Node Package Manager (NPM) registry left developers unable to unpublish packages. On December 29, 2023, a package titled "everything" was published to the registry. This package was designed to install all other public packages in the registry, creating a registry-wide web of dependencies. As a result, the ability to unpublish packages on the site was effectively disabled, as packages that other packages are dependent on cannot be unpublished.

The incident triggered responses from developers who were unable to unpublish their deprecated or experimental packages. Some criticized the stunt as an abuse of the open-source NPM system. One user, Matt Lucock, accused the group behind the prank of "reckless negligence" and defended NPM's unpublish rules as necessary to "protect the integrity of the registry."

The "everything" package was found to be in violation of GitHub's Acceptable Use Policies and the npm Code of Conduct. As of January 4, 2024, the "everything" repository had been removed from GitHub. The "everything" package still appeared to be active on the NPM registry but, now without a source commit, is accompanied by a message reading, "Please verify the source before using this package."

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OpenAI’s app store for GPTs will launch next week

OpenAI is set to launch its GPT Store next week, a marketplace for custom apps based on its text-generating AI models, such as GPT-4. The announcement comes after a delay from its initial launch date in November 2023.

The GPT Store will allow developers to list their Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) after ensuring compliance with OpenAI's updated usage policies and GPT brand guidelines. Developers will also need to verify their user profiles and publish their GPTs as "public."

GPTs, which do not require coding experience to create, can be as simple or complex as a developer wishes. They can be trained on a variety of data, from cookbooks to proprietary codebases, to perform tasks such as answering recipe questions or checking code style.

The GPT Store was first announced during OpenAI's first annual developer conference, DevDay, last year. However, its launch was delayed, likely due to a leadership shakeup at OpenAI.

It remains unclear whether the GPT Store will launch with a revenue-sharing scheme. As of November, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman and CTO Mira Murati stated there wasn't a firm plan for GPT monetization.

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Microsoft unveils ‘Copilot’ key, its biggest update to Windows keyboard in 30 years

Microsoft has announced a significant update to the Windows keyboard, introducing a new "Copilot" key that activates an AI-powered assistant with a single click. This marks the most substantial change to the Windows keyboard in three decades, since the addition of the Start menu key in 1994.

The Copilot key will soon be available on new PCs running on the Windows operating system, made and sold by various manufacturers. With this new feature, users can engage with Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered chatbot, to ask questions or help draft emails. The new key is expected to simplify and enhance the computing experience, making 2024 the "year of the AI PC," according to Yusuf Mehdi, the executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft.

The Copilot key will replace the menu button, sitting next to the alt key on the left and the left arrow button on the right on most keyboards. If Copilot is not yet available in your country or not enabled on your device, pressing the Copilot key will launch Windows Search.

The introduction of the Copilot key is part of Microsoft's broader strategy to integrate AI into Windows, from the system to the silicon to the hardware. This move is expected to drive a rebound in PC sales in 2024, as consumers seek devices with AI features.

The new Copilot key is expected to be available on new Windows 11 PCs from late February through Spring, including on upcoming Surface devices.

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Youtube Spotlight

The Broken Senior-Only Developer Market

The video discusses the challenges faced by junior developers in finding employment due to the current economic conditions and changing market dynamics. It also provides insight into the reasons why companies are opting to hire senior developers over junior developers and offers three strategies for junior developers to enhance their employability.

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